SGN August 7, 2015 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

Issue 32 Volume 43

Hold These Truths is a MUST SEE!!!!!

Lady Chablis debuts

“I Love You Anyway” single on iTunes

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Election wrap up: Seattle City Council District 3 leads turnout, Sawant leads opponents Godden out, other incumbents go on to general election

City Council member Kshama Sawant – Associated Press

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Bold new face for local labor movement:

First woman head of Labor Council, Marsha Botzer elected as an officer

Newly elected officer Marsha Botzer – out4s.org

Council member Kshama Sawant racked up by Mike Andrew a wide lead over her opponents in the Au- SGN Staff Writer gust 4 primary election.

The Martin Luther King County Labor Other incumbents seem to be on track Seattle’s City Council District 3 led Council (MLKCLC), the organization repin voter turnout, and its incumbent City see election page 4

resenting most local unions, put on a bold new face August 6 when its Executive Board elected the first woman Executive Secretary and also named Transgender activist Marsee botzer page 4

2015 Gender Justice Awards IBM, Oracle, Orbitz, and Symantec join other corporate giants in announcing support for comprehensive federal LGBT non-discrimination legislation

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor On Thursday, Gender Justice League, organizers of the annual Trans Pride event on Capitol Hill, held their first annual Gender Justice Awards dinner at Melrose Market to highlight and showcase the incredible activism of Trans and Allied Activists who have made incredible strides for Trans, Gender Queer, and Gender Non-Conforming people in the Pacific Northwest.

This year’s Gender Justice Awards were hosted by Ian Harvie, the comedian and actor who appeared in the Golden Globe Award winning series Transparent.

The dinner and program began at 7 p.m. and lasted until 10 p.m. with many people receiving awards. The 11 award recipients and categories are as follows: The Emergence Award honors Selam Abunu, an emerging activist within the Trans community, to elevate their work and encourage ongoing community support for their future work. The Emergence Award is honored with a $500 grant. Selam currently works at Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS) helping unhoused LG-

More leading American corporations – including major Fortune 500 BTQIA+ youth find stability and communi- companies – endorse comprehensive federal LGBT non-discrimination ty. Selam has contributed a great deal to the legislation in days following introduction of Equality Act

conversation and work in the community to address the issue of homelessness facing LGBTQIA+.

The Longevity Award honors Vanessa Grandberry, a community member who has made a sustained impact in the shape of our communities through their mentorship, leadership, and ongoing advocacy on behalf of Trans people. Vanessa began her career as a Trans-women HIV testing resource manager at People of Color Against AIDS Network in 2000. Through POCAAN, Vanessa published an informative, monthly newsletter called T-Time. In addition to her work at POCAAN, Vanessa volunteered at Lambert House, Lifelong AIDS Alliance and Youth East-Side Services. Today Vanessa can be found at the Center for MultiCultural Health, Vanessa continues to be an advocate for HIV/STI testing for African American men and Trans-women.

The first Solidarity Award honors Sex Workers Outreach Project Seattle who act in unity and mutual support with Trans communities. Sex Workers Outreach Project Seattle joined with Gender Justice League and see awards page 5

WASHINGTON DC – Four new major American companies have become the latest to endorse the Equality Act, federal legislation that would establish full, federal equality for all LGBT Americans. In doing so, these leading companies – IBM, Oracle, Orbitz, and Symantec – made clear that they believe all LGBT Americans should have the protections from discrimination in federal law that they deserve.

They join American Airlines, Apple, The Dow Chemical Company, Facebook, General Mills, Google, Levi Strauss & Co., Microsoft, and Nike as part of a national business coalition supporting comprehensive, federal LGBT non-discrimination protections.

Additionally, Hewlett-Packard in “Fortune” recently announced its support for the Equality Act. STATEMENT BY IBM: “IBM’s workplace culture is built on the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunity for all. We established a corporate policy on equal opportunity more than a decade before the Civil Rights Act. We championed an industry-leading policy of non-

discrimination based on sexual orientation over 30 years ago, and expanded it in 2002 to cover gender identity and expression. IBM is proud to support the Equality Act and maintains our steadfast support for all employees to experience equality in the workplace.”

STATEMENT BY ORBITZ: “At Orbitz we’ve been advocates of equality and inclusion since our founding in 2001. Our support for the Equality Act is consistent with our other actions, such as signing the amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to find gay marriage bans unconstitutional.”

STATEMENT BY SYMANTEC: “At Symantec, we are proud to support full and equal rights for the LGBT community. We believe having a diversity of perspectives ensures we make better business decisions and the products and services we offer meet the needs of the broad spectrum of people we serve worldwide, which is why we couldn’t be more proud to support the expansion of legal protections. We unequivocally support see equality act page 11

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August 7, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Post marriage equality we need to get our priorities in order

Supporting and protecting our homeless LGBTQ youth

by Glenn LeCarl Special to the SGN Whoa... not so fast!

As the celebration of marriage equality winds down our community appears poised to pivot toward, and bring the primary focus of our formidable influence, to the fight for passage of the newly introduced Equality Act, which would provide more comprehensive protections against antiLGBT discrimination than its [proposed] predecessor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). It may seem the obvious course. After all, as the saying goes, a gay or lesbian person can get married in the morning and fired in the afternoon...or refused a hotel room, be barred from senior housing, declined service in a restaurant, denied a joint auto loan, etc. However, there is a need more urgent, one literally of life and death – namely homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The time is now that they not just be A priority at long last, but THE TOP priority moving forward.

Fully 20-40 percent of the approximately 1.5 million homeless youths in America identify as LGBTQ, based on numerous studies. Over the past almost two decades I have been engaged on this issue these dismal statistics have proven stubbornly resistant to change. Studies also show that a youth’s LGBTQ identity is often a major contributing factor to becoming homeless, if not the cause altogether. Once homeless, LGBTQ youth face a myriad of risks, including: suicide, violence, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, prostitution, and substance abuse/dependence.

Greater access to LGBTQ specific and LGBTQ-friendly services, with the necessary competencies and experience, are sorely needed. There are a number of amazing foundations and service organizations around the country, such as Cyndi Lauper’s

Visit us online www.sgn.org

True Colors Foundation, the Ali Forney Center in NYC and Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco attempting to raise awareness and/or directly address the plight of homelessness among our youth.

Yet these organizations have been de facto charged with the responsibility for addressing a crisis that in scope and scale is far beyond their resources and capabilities.

Marriage equality is just the latest on the list of our most consequential victories to date. HIV/AIDS has gone from being a terminal to potentially manageable chronic condition (for those with access to life-saving medications), DADT and DOMA have fallen, we now enjoy protections in federal government employment and contracting, polls consistently show we have won the hearts and minds of an ever-increasing majority and corporate America largely has our backs. However, most national level successes have been to the sole benefit of LGBT adults.

My life-partner, now husband, of sixteen years and I are no exception; our ability to be legally married and have our relationship recognized by the federal government has been a huge advantage to us personally.

I am grateful for that. I am certainly mindful, as well, of the ongoing and important efforts to address the numerous issues that remain before us in addition to passage of the Equality Act, including equal access to adoption and countering so-called religious freedom legislation and executive orders.

But when community leaders and pundits discuss the work ahead in the wake of Obergefell v. Hodges, I am disheartened at what I do not hear. Homeless LGBTQ youth rarely, if ever, rate a mention.

To be fair, our national leadership is not entirely AWOL. One example is the campaign to end anti-LGBTQ bullying which may help reduce a contributing factor toward homelessness among some LGBTQ

youth. The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) is a complimentary effort to address bullying and equal opportunity in education. Another example is the advocacy around the Runaway and Homeless Youth Inclusion Act (RHYIA) which would help ensure that programs funded by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (which must be renewed) serve LGBTQ youth effectively and without discrimination.

We’ve all heard of ENDA and will be hearing much about the Equality Act; chances are the same cannot be said for SNDA or RHYIA. There is good reason for that. For all the gains they have labored hard to help secure, and for which they can be rightly proud, the professional activist class of our community has been ineffectual in advancing the cause of homeless LGBTQ youth. Furthermore, our national leadership has consistently failed to embrace a sense of urgency regarding the crisis, let alone respond accordingly. This is shameful, especially when you consider the vast wealth, power, access and media profile that has been marshaled by our community in securing the aforementioned victories.

Unless our national organizations and biggest donors wake up and similarly prioritize homeless LGBTQ youth, RHYIA and SNDA will languish, services will remain inadequate and overall progress will be incremental at best. Absent that top level commitment going forward, we will have to ask ourselves what kind of community we are, what kind of a people we have become, that amidst such tremendous success we neglect the most vulnerable among us.

August 7, 2015

Seattle Gay News 3

Glenn LeCarl is a disabled veteran and U.S. Naval Academy alumnus based in Tallahassee, FL. He can be reached at glennalecarl@gmail.com.

Pedestrian-only pilot program to start Saturday night on E. Pike St. According to the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, “these temporarily open streets will allow for increased pedestrian mobility, improved police monitoring, and more positive activation.”

On August 22, the pedestrian-only zone will feature a free street yoga class at 8:30 p.m. put on by SweatBox Yoga. Laura Culberg, SweatBox owner, says mats and athletic clothing would be optional for the beginner’s level session. The LGBTQ part of the evening includes a drag show at 9:30 p.m. hosted by Jackie Hell that includes, Tony James, AKA Freckles Riverside, of New Noise Productions (the King of F’ing with Burlesque), Drag Queen Rainbow Gore Cake, Drag King Shelli Kountz, local singer and Capitol Hill personality Ade, and Honey Bucket, Pac Highway’s hottest Ho. On August 29, Century Ballroom will host a series of short Queer-friendly part-

ner dance classes on E. Pike St., which may include live musicians.

Organizers say that amplified sound will be wrapped up by 11 p.m. and programming will shift into human statues and mimes.

“We want string musicians to serenade people goodnight and indicate that it’s time to get out of the street, get some food or head home,” said EcoDistrict organizer Alex Brennan.

labor organization, and is a member of the National Writers Union (UAW 1981).

Trustees are charged with overseeing MLKCLC’s financial operations and become members of the union group’s Executive Board. Botzer will be the first openly Transgender officer of MLKCLC. “Election to this position is an honor, and it is also a duty I feel deeply as an opportunity for personal service,” Botzer told the SGN. “The Martin Luther King County Labor Council is working to include all groups and individuals sharing its values and hopes, and I recognize I am granted this honor by members who have served the labor movement for their whole lives. To be able to participate at this historic moment of change, with this organization’s outstanding leaders, is a grand thing indeed.”

Both Grant and Botzer are filling vacant positions and will have to run for full threeyear terms in October.

Betsy Shedd, a union crane operator and also a member of Pride At Work, is now Vice President of the Labor Council but will not be running for re-election in October.

movement,” Grant told the SGN after her election. “The information Marsha has shared about discrimination against LGBTQ workers proves that the labor movement is not obsolete.

“We need to live up to our moniker – it’s the Martin Luther King Labor Council, after all – and prioritize civil rights. We’re a labor movement for all workers.”

Grant added that organized labor shared the same goals with the LGBT rights movement and called for the two to work more closely together.

“The labor movement has a lot to learn from the LGBTQ community in terms of organizing,” she said.

“It’s time to take it to the next level. To all my brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community – the time is now for us to unite!”

largest turnout, with almost 27% of registered voters sending in their ballots.

Sawant now leads by a wide margin, with more than 50% of the votes in her column. She will face off against Urban League president Pamela Banks in November.

Banks came in with just under 35%.

Their campaign strategies could not be more different.

Sawant has made affordable housing the cornerstone of her campaign, just as the minimum wage was in 2013. Banks made Sawant the central issue, charging that she was too radical.

Sawant deployed hundreds of volunteers to the neighborhoods in her district, their signature red shirts reminiscent of Sawant’s successful campaign for the $15 minimum wage. Banks, on the other hand, invested in TV ads.

Hearne came in third with a little over 10%, followed by Morgan Beach (2.13%), and Lee Carter (2.05%).

She is drawing less than 21% of the vote, with challengers Rob Johnson (33.66%) and Michael Maddux (22.13%) probably going to the general election in November.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The pilot program for a pedestrian-only E. Pike St., which will restrict vehicular traffic on E. Pike St. between Broadway and 12th Ave from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., creating a pedestrian zone in the city’s largest concentration of nightlife, begins Saturday.

According to the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, the group organizing the initiative with financing from the City of Seattle, the first two Saturdays this month, August 8 and 15, the pedestrian zone will focus on crowd management and releasing sidewalk pressure by removing vehicular traffic on the three-block stretch. The second two nights, August 22 and 29, will start at 8 p.m. and run until 3 a.m. and will include performers and activities emphasizing LGBTQ culture and the arts.

BOtzer

continued from cover sha Botzer as a trustee.

Nicole Grant, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 46 was chosen as Executive Secretary to replace Dave Freiboth, who resigned to take a job directing labor relations at the Port of Seattle.

Grant becomes the first woman to take the post, which makes her the effective head of the local labor movement. MLKCLC currently has a woman president and vice president, but they are stepping down at the end of their terms in October.

Marsha Botzer, founder and co-chair of Ingersoll Gender Center, was elected to an open trustee position. Botzer is a delegate to MLKCLC from Pride At Work, the LGBT

election

continued from cover to go on to the general election in November, except for veteran City Council member Jean Godden, who is headed for forced retirement unless late ballots reverse the trend in the city’s District 4.

The Seattle City Council may get an openly Gay member to replace Tom Rasmussen and Sally Clark, who did not run for re-election. Stonewall Democrats activist Michael Maddux is running second in the race to replace Godden and will probably make it to the November ballot. Former ERW executive director Rod Hearne is going down to defeat in District 3, however.

Openly Gay union lobbyist Herb Krohn also failed to get into the general election in his race for the Port Commission.

The election will not be certified until August 18, and ballots are still being counted, but in many races the margins are already too big for late ballots to change the results.

City Council District 3 The race that captured the whole city’s imagination was the hotly contested one in Seattle City Council District 3, pitting incumbent Kshama Sawant against four rivals. The much-watched race drew the city’s

4 Seattle Gay News

This is something that many in the neighborhood have called for over time – especially within the last year or so as the neighborhood’s weekend party crowd literally invades Capitol Hill causing traffic jams, fights, and general unease of neighborhood residents, business owners, and safety officials.

City Council District 4 Jean Godden’s 12-year career on the City Council looks like it’s coming to an end.

Despite the fact that her signature issue – gender pay equity – resonates with many voters, Godden found it hard to overcome the impression that she is too old and frail to be an effective council member.

August 7, 2015

“All workers are welcome” Like her predecessor, Grant is an ally of the LGBT community. Most recently, she worked with Ingersoll Center and Pride At Work to produce a February forum on Transgender workers, held at the Washington State Labor Council’s International District office.

The MLKCLC includes some 150 affiliated unions and labor organizations, representing 80,000 workers in King County.

“All workers are welcome in the labor

Open City Council seats The three open City Council seats – in Districts 1 and 5, and the at-large Position 9 – will feature races between first-time candidates but long-time activists.

West Seattle’s District 1 will see the battle of the legislative aides, with Nick Licata staffer Lisa Herbold (28.56%) facing off against former Joe McDermott staffer Shannon Braddock (28.26%).

In District 5 activist attorney Debora Juarez (38.87%) will go up against activist pastor Sandy Brown (20.38%). Brown played an active role in the R-74 campaign for marriage equality and has defied his Methodist denomination by marrying same-sex couples.

In the at-large Position 9, Mayor Ed Murray’s former attorney, Lorena Gonzalez, racked up a whopping 64.23% of the vote, swamping the runner-up, Bill Bradburd (15.12%).

Incumbents headed for November Incumbents Bruce Harrell (District 2), Mike O’Brien (District 6), Sally Bagshaw (District 7) and Tim Burgess (District 8) are

all headed for the November ballot.

In fact, all seem to be pretty sure bets for re-election, although Burgess failed to get a majority of the votes cast for his at-large seat.

Harrell (61.91%) will face Tammy Morales (24.63%) in November. O’Brien (58.57%) will take on Catherine Weatbrook (22.27%), Bagshaw (76.55%) goes up against Deborah Zech-Artis (13.35%), and Burgess (47.56%) will face affordable housing activist Jon Grant (29.12%).

Port Commission In the race for the Seattle Port Commission Position 2, incumbent Courtney Gregoire, daughter of former governor Christine Gregoire, pulled in 82.46% of the vote.

She will face space colony advocate and perennial candidate Goodspaceguy (9.21%) in November.

The open Position 5 seat drew nine candidates, including veteran Gay activist and union lobbyist Herb Krohn. Krohn drew only a bit over 8% of the vote, however, and will not be on the ballot in November.

Instead, environmentalist Fred Felleman (22.61%) will face Marion Yoshino (18.49%).

Celebrating 41 Years!

DelBene would ban “conversion therapy”

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene – thehill.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Congresswoman Suzan DelBene debuted a federal bill to ban so-called “conversion therapy” in an August 3 press conference at a Seattle youth shelter.

DelBene is a cosponsor of the Therapy Fraud Prevention Act, which would classify conversion therapy – sometimes also called “reparative therapy” or “ex-Gay” therapy – as consumer fraud under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

awards

continued from cover Trans community members in opposing several pieces of anti-sex worker legislation in the 2015 session, highlighting the disparate impact that so called “end demand” policies have on increasing violence against Sex Workers, making unsafe working conditions, and increasing HIV in Trans communities. S.W.O.P Seattle also helped bring Trans Activist Monica Jones to Trans Pride 2015.

The second Solidarity Award honors The Coalition for Inclusive Health Care’s Lisa Brodoff, Kris Hermanns, and David Ward. The Coalition for Inclusive Healthcare was founded by over 30 LGBTQIA+ organizations in Washington state in conjunction with national partners to remove transition related health insurance exclusions. The Coalition successfully repealed exclusions for: State Employees, All Private Insurance, Washington Apple Health (Medicaid), City of Tacoma employees, and City of Seattle employees. This work was only possible with the incredible ally ship of legal champions David Ward, Lisa Brodoff, and Jenni Wong and the support of The Pride Foundation’s Kris Hermanns.

Their ally ship combined with the collective power of seasoned Trans activists Marsha Botzer, founder of Ingersoll Gender Center; Mitch Hunter of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission; Seth Kirby Board President of Pride Foundation, Michelle Douglas, Executive Director of Tacoma Rainbow Center; and Danielle Askini Executive Director of Gender Justice League; helped make

mired in sin but could be saved from himself, Cords said.

“In a panic my parents tried to save me from myself and they enrolled me in conversion therapy,” Cords said. “Everything about me was wrong, everything about me was unclean, and if I tried hard enough I could fix myself because all things were possible through Christ.”

Cords said that as hard as he tried, he could not change who he was as a person.

“I was so confused and scared I slipped into terrible depression because I could not change, and I thought I had become a lost cause,” Cords said. “I had become worthless in the eyes of this therapy.”

Cords added that he has forgiven his parents, who he considers victims of an industry that flourishes on false messages of conversion.

“I can only imagine the regret they must now feel after we have rebuilt our relationship and now that they have learned how abusive and damaging conversion therapy is,” Cords said.

Washington State Sen. Marko Liias, who represents a state legislative district in DelBene’s congressional district, has introduced a similar bill in the state Legislature, but it has been blocked in the Republicancontrolled state Senate.

Jody Waits, director of communications of YouthCare, which manages Orion Youth Shelter where the press conference took place, added that up to half of Seattle’s homeless youth are LGBT and are on the streets because parents or caretakers refused to accept their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Americans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, don’t need a cure – they need equality under the law,” DelBene said.

“This legislation is an important step towards protecting the LGBT community and their families from the fraudulent promise of conversion,” she added.

Since the bill only affects for-profit therapy, it does not interfere with religious institutions or First Amendment freedom of speech protections, she continued.

“There’s an overwhelming consensus among medical, education, social work and

mental health professionals that conversion therapy doesn’t work,” DelBene said. “Instead it increases the likelihood of depression, self-harm and suicide, particularly in minors.”

DelBene was joined at the press conference by Daniel Cords, who was subjected to conversion therapy as a teenager. Cords came out to his parents at age 14, but their membership in a conservative church made them hostile to his sexual orientation, he said.

His parents sincerely believed he was

Washington one of the first states to remove all health insurance exclusions governed by state law.

The Power Award honors Kshama Sawant, whose work has built the agency or political power of the Trans communities. Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant has proven herself a leader for Seattle’s Trans communities through her work to highlight the hate violence being faced by the LGBTQIA+ communities in Seattle. In February, Kshama heard the call of activists and hosted a Hate Crimes Forum at All Pilgrims Church – over 300 people attended.

Since then, Kshama has used her position on the council to continue to highlight the crisis and has been at the forefront pushing for city-led responses to the housing crisis, homelessness crisis, and housing LGBTQIA+ youth.

The Resilience Award honors Kiyomi Fujikawa, a person who is building the strength and resilience within queer and Trans communities of color. Kiyomi’s work at API Chaya has spanned a number of programs focused on building the power and resilience of Queer and Trans communities of color to address violence and build agency. Kiyomi has also been a key contributor to the King County Trans Resource Guide and numerous arts and entertainment programs focused at QTPOC community in Seattle.

The Health Justice Award honors Sid Jordan, who acts as a leader in striving for health care justice for Trans communities.

Sid has been active in the Seattle area grassroots organizing for youth rights, queer liberation, and racial, economic and gender

justice since the mid-1990s. Most recently Sid led the King County LGBTQ Access Project, a three-year anti-violence demonstration project focused on increasing access to services for LGBTQ survivors of violence, as well as coordinated the 2014 King County Trans* Resource & Referral Guide.

Sid has also produced media and trained health and human service providers as part of the project Reteaching Gender & Sexuality.

The HIV Justice Award honors Alison Davison, whose work combats HIV stigma and addresses the high impact HIV has on Trans communities. Alison has a long history of work in social services and health in the Northwest and Arizona. She began her professional career in Seattle at the Open Door Clinic in 1970 as Social Services director. She currently serves on the board of Ingersoll Gender Center and works as a Medical Case Manager at Lifelong. In 2014 and 2015 – Alison helped spearhead an effort to increase health insurance enrollment and to educate the Trans community on the removal of health insurance exclusions. Alison’s work has helped to remove the many barriers Trans people face in accessing care.

The Celebration Award honors Finn Cottom, whose contributions to the arts celebrates Trans identities and experiences.

Finn Cottom has become a fixture of Seattle’s Queer and Trans literary, comedy, and arts communities – from organizing a writers workshop, instructing at BENT, hosting Trans Pride 2015, to helping launch one of the first Trans comedy stand up showcases – Finn has breathed hope and laughter into a movement that can sometimes feel a bit

too serious. Finn’s work with youth has also helped inspire a new generation of Queer creators and celebrators!

The Community Award honors U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, a group that strengthens community ties through performance, collaboration, and cultivating connectedness. Since its inception, U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle has sponsored events ranging from educational panels and workshops for Pacific Islander students and families at SSCC to the widely popular annual beauty pageant Miss U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, and has participated in the Seattle Pride Parade in downtown Seattle. U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle has provided tremendous support in fostering a sense of community by donating time, money, and other vital resources to community organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Zeitgeist Award honors Ro Yoon, whose work answers the current call to action within Trans communities and sets the tone for the movement. Ro Yoon is not invisible. Throughout her 20+ years working with community-based, non-profits in Seattle, Ro always has a place at every table for she mobilizes diverse communities TOGETHER with her expertise in community health and wellness. Ro’s presence is an unforgettable force that commands action with her passion for social justice and a deep understanding of cross-cultural dynamics. She does it all with grace and integrity.

August 7, 2015

Seattle Gay News 5

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Anti-Gay graffiti appears on Capitol Hill

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Equal Rights Washington Executive Director Monisha Harrell noticed something disturbing Monday morning. AntiGay slurs were tagged onto the wall of the parking garage, owned by First Covenant Church, on Summit between E. Pike and E. Pine Sts., on Capitol Hill. The word “faggot” and the phrase “I see gay people” was visible, having been tagged in red letters, to anyone passing by.

Harrell, a supporter of Seattle Police Department’s SAFE PLACE initiative, photographed the anti-Gay graffiti and contacted SPD LGBTQ Liaison Officer Jim Ritter to report the incident.

Ritter told Seattle Gay News that he and several patrol officers responded to the incident after alerting East Precinct Commander Captain Paul McDonagh of the complaint.

Ritter says that the building “appears to have been tagged last night by the same suspect who had a very distinctive ‘tag,’” insinuating that this is not the first time East Precinct officers have seen this particular slur graffitied to a wall belonging to a Capitol Hill business or residence.

“East Precinct patrol officers did a great job photographing the scene and documenting the incident,” said Ritter. “The Church’s maintenance supervisor responded immediately and painted over the graffiti following the police investigation.”

Anti-Gay graffiti found in Capitol Hill – Shaun Knittel

NOM loses again – Bigots must disclose donors, Maine Supreme Court says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Remember NOM? Only a few years ago they were the widely feared right-wing hit men who intervened to block every effort to legalize samesex marriage. Now they’re just losers.

NOM, the National Organization for Marriage, lost once again on August 4, when the Maine Supreme Court denied its motion to overturn a ruling by the state’s ethics commission that the group must disclose its donors.

The case arose from NOM’s successful attempt to overturn Maine’s marriage

equality law in 2009. Only three years later, Maine voters reversed themselves and handed NOM one of the four defeats it suffered in 2012, passing a marriage equality initiative by a healthy six-point margin.

Other states that successfully defied NOM and passed same-sex marriage in 2012 were Maryland and Washington.

Minnesota also rejected a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the same election.

As it’s done in other states, NOM refused to disclose the donors who supported its 2009 Maine campaign, but the state’s Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices found the group in viola-

tion of campaign financing laws. It was ordered to pay a $50,250 fine and disclose the names of its donors.

The ruling followed an investigation in which the staff of the ethics commission found that NOM failed to comply with state law by concealing its operations and donors during the 2009 campaign. The ethics vote meant that the state will require the organization to register as a ballot question committee and disclose its donors from the campaign.

NOM then appealed to the state Supreme Court, arguing that its donors were supporting the group’s general principles and not the specific ballot measure in

Maine. Therefore, it said, it was not required to disclose their names.

The organization also argued that disclosing its donors would seriously hinder its ability to raise funds in the future.

Maine ethics commission chair Walter McKee said that NOM’s argument made a “mockery” of the state’s campaign finance disclosure laws. The state’s high court agreed by denying NOM’s motion to overturn the commission’s ruling.

Now, it seems, NOM is out of options.

The group is also reportedly broke, with 2013 donations – the most recent ones the secretive group has published – down 70% from its 2012 numbers.

Don’t give marriage licenses to anyone, Alabama bill says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer How do you get out of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v.

Hodges?

Simple, an Alabama lawmaker says.

Don’t issue licenses to anyone.

Alabama State Senator Greg Albritton has introduced a bill to do away with stateissued marriage licenses altogether. Instead of the licenses, couples who have been married by someone authorized to do so would simply file a private marriage contract at state probate offices.

That way, Albritton says, the state isn’t put in the position of approving same-sex marriages by issuing licenses for them, but also isn’t discriminating against Gay and Lesbian couples because no one would get a license.

The bill advanced August 3 when a Senate Committee passed it. The measure may now go to the floor of the Senate for debate and a vote, but it may face obstacles. The Alabama legislature is in special session

6 Seattle Gay News

because it failed to pass a state budget during its regular meetings. That means that budget bills get priority, and Albritton’s bill might not come to the floor.

In any case, the idea is not original. Thirteen Alabama counties have shut their clerks’ offices rather than issue licenses to Gay and Lesbian couples.

A l a b a m a’s Chief Judge Roy Moore has advised the state’s county clerks that the U.S. high court does not have jurisdiction over marriage laws, and that they can safely refuse to give licenses to same-sex couples.

August 7, 2015

Alabama State Senator Greg Albritton – youtube.com

On the other hand, U.S. District Judge Callie Grenade, who issued the original ruling striking down Alabama’s ban on samesex marriage on January, insisted that federal court rulings supersede state laws.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed multiple charges of unethical conduct against Moore, stemming from his statements on the high court’s marriage decision.

Celebrating 41 Years!

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August 7, 2015

Seattle Gay News 7

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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August 7, 2015

Seattle Gay News 9

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August 7, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Texas Attorney General arrested, booked on felony charges

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was arrested and booked on three counts of felony securities fraud August 3. The charges were announced July 31 when grand jury findings against Paxton were unsealed.

As Attorney General, Paxton continued the anti-Gay policies of his predecessor, Greg Abbott. Abbott was elected Governor in 2014 when Paxton was elected Attorney General.

On June 28, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage, Paxton urged county clerks to refuse marriage licenses to Gay and Lesbian couples.

“Numerous lawyers stand ready to assist clerks defending their religious beliefs, in many cases on a pro-bono basis, and I will do everything I can from this office to be a public voice for those standing in defense of their rights,” Paxton said at the time.

The charges, which stem from Paxton’s stint as a Texas state legislator, date to a 2011 attempt to sell stock in Servergy Inc., an energy company. The details were wellknown in Texas.

“There’s little surprise in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s felony indictments for securities fraud and failing to register with the state to sell securities,” the Houston Chronicle editorialized after Paxton was arrested.

equality act continued from cover

the Equality Act – for the future of our business and society.”

All of these major companies scored a perfect 100 on HRC’s annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a nationally-recognized benchmark of LGBT inclusion in the workplace, and were recognized on HRC’s list of Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality in 2015.

“Momentum for the Equality Act continues to grow as the American business community stands up for diversity, inclusion and equality – principles critical to the success of any company,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We are tremendously

“The longtime lawmaker’s legal troubles have been public knowledge for some time.

During the 2014 election season, political watchers routinely warned voters about Paxton’s record of insider dealings and kickbacks. As we wrote during the primary runoff: ‘Voters shouldn’t want a lawyer-in-chief who will confront the wrong end of a grand jury on day one.’”

One of Paxton’s own state House colleagues filed the complaint against him, charging that Paxton had tried to sell more than $600,000 worth of Servergy stock to Texas House members without disclosing that he had been paid with 100,000 shares of the stock.

Paxton also told his colleagues that he had invested in Servergy himself when he had not, court documents said.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa demanded Paxton’s resignation.

“He needs to spare Texas the embarrassment of a drawn-out legal fight in the public eye, take responsibility and accept the consequences,” Hinojosa said. “It is time to restore the public trust. It is time for a Re-

publican to finally act responsibly.”

Texans for Public Justice, an Austinbased watchdog group that filed a criminal complaint against Paxton last year, also called for Paxton to step down.

“He’s abused the faith in his public office and, according to the indictments, he’s engaged in outright deception for his personal

profit, and that’s why we think he should step aside,” the group’s Director, Craig McDonald, said.

Paxton’s attorney said that after his client posted bond, he returned to Austin, the state capital, “to focus on his work on behalf of the citizens of Texas.”

grateful to these corporate leaders for their support of the Equality Act and the basic principle that all Americans should be able to live their lives free of discrimination.

A growing number of companies agree – equality is good for business and the time for full federal equality is now.”

Earlier this year, more than 120 prominent leaders in the tech industry called on legislatures across the nation to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes to their civil rights laws, and to explicitly forbid discrimination or denial of services to anyone.

Last week, Ted Olson and David Boies, the bipartisan legal team that represented the plaintiffs in the Hollingsworth v. Perry case that challenged California’s Proposition 8 and was ultimately heard by the U.S.

Supreme Court, came out in support of a comprehensive federal LGBT non-discrimination law.

The results of a new Democracy Corps survey from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research released last week indicates that support for non-discrimination legislation unites the country. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of likely Republican voters support protecting LGBT people from workplace discrimination, as do 90 percent of Democrats. Similarly, this legislation draws impressive majorities of support among college (84 percent) and non-college voters (73 percent), younger (85 percent) and older voters (75 percent), as well as observant Christians (70 percent).

In March, polling conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for the Human Rights

Campaign (HRC) revealed that nearly twothirds of LGBT Americans (63 percent) have faced discrimination in their lives, with LGBT people reporting workplace discrimination as the most frequently experienced form of discrimination.

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Visit us online www.sgn.org

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – Marjorie Kamys Cotera

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign

USDA cohosts Rural Pride in Mississippi able, and discuss proposed and enacted federal policy changes that can increase equality and access for rural LGBT people and their families.”

The series of meetings hopes to dispel the stereotype that LGBT people only live in metropolitan areas and to raise awareness of the particular issues faced by LGBT rural communities.

In fact, a Williams Institute study found that “almost 10% of all The USDA will cohost Rural Pride on August 14 in Jackson, Miss. – Rebecca Cook/Reuters same-sex couples in Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund to pro- the country live in rural America” and that

by Mike Andrew duce the event in conjunction with the Na- these couples are actually more likely to be SGN Staff writer families of color and raising children. tional LGBT Rural Summit series.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Using the hashtag #RuralPride, the The U.S. Department of Agriculture groups are calling for a series of LGBT Force also issued a report finding that these (USDA) has announced that it will cohost summits in rural areas around the country couples are more likely to be low-income Rural Pride on August 14 in Jackson, Miss. to “elevate the voices of LGBT people and and are almost twice as likely to receive The USDA will work with the National families in rural communities, explore how public assistance. The transgender commuCenter for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and these communities are particularly vulner- nity is particularly vulnerable.

Among the topics Rural Pride summits will address are the higher rates of economic insecurity for rural LGBT people, the lack of family and nondiscrimination protections, the relationship between LGBT and faith communities, and the heightened challenges facing rural LGBT youth and rural LGBT people of color.

“From housing [to] education, healthcare, youth empowerment, and more, there will be something for everyone, and we welcome and need your voice and perspective to ensure the success of the day,” the event website says.

The True Colors Fund aims to end homelessness among LGBT youth and is named after Lauper’s 1986 hit song and album.

“We applaud the USDA for celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people living in rural communities across the country with this important series of summits,” Cyndi Lauper said in a statement.

“LGBT youth comprise up to 40 percent of our nation’s homeless youth population.

Those in rural communities face incredibly unique challenges and are such an important and often overlooked part of this conversation. The True Colors Fund is proud to partner with the USDA and NCLR to highlight their stories as a part of the many experiences that LGBT people face in rural America.”

Homophobia is like racism, Obama says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Homophobia comes from the same exclusionary mindset as racism, President Obama told a meeting of young African leaders August 3.

President Obama spoke at a three-day summit of the Young African Leaders Initiative in Washington, D.C. The president recently returned from a visit to Africa, where he also challenged homophobia.

A question from a Kenyan participant set the stage for Obama’s remarks.

Noting that in her country, Kenya, people with albinism were often murdered so their body parts could be used in magical rituals, she asked Obama to comment on the situation.

The president condemned the killings and then continued, “The same, by the way, is true for sexual orientation.”

“I spoke about this in Africa,” Obama said, “and everybody is like, oh, oh, we don’t want to hear that. But the truth of the matter is, is that if you’re treating people differently just because of who they love and who they are, then there’s a connection between that mindset and the mindset that led to racism, and the mindset that leads to ethnic conflict. It means that you’re not able to see somebody else as a human being.”

Obama then compared the oppression of Africans and African-Americans by European colonialists to the oppression of LGBT people in some countries.

“You can’t, on the one hand, complain when somebody else does that to you, and then you’re doing it to somebody else,” Obama said.

“You can’t do it. There’s got to be some consistency to how you think about these issues. And that’s going to be up to young

12 Seattle Gay News

President Obama addresses participants at a meeting of the Young African Leaders Initiative in Washington, D.C. – Reuters

people – because old people get stuck in their ways.”

During his visit to his father’s homeland of Kenya, Obama clashed publicly with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta over the issue of LGBT rights.

“When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode,” Obama said at a July press conference, with Kenyatta standing by and look-

August 7, 2015

ing annoyed. “And bad things happen.”

Under Kenyan law, sexual activity between men is illegal and punishable with a maximum imprisonment of 14 years. In 2010 rumors of an impending same-sex marriage in the resort town of Mtwapa led to a week of rioting during which Gay men were attacked on the streets and an AIDS clinic was burned down.

Kenyan leaders had urged Obama not to bring up Gay rights on his trip, but Obama very publicly equated legalized discrimina-

tion against the LGBT community to legalized racism in America.

“And when a government gets in a habit of people treating people differently, those habits can spread,” Obama said. “As an African-American, I am painfully aware of what happens when people are treated differently under the law.”

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