Celebrating 47 Years! Issue 5 Volume 49
INAUGURATION DAY 2021 PHOTOS BY NATE GOWDY
SEE PAGE 8
Seattle Gay News
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TRANS BAN GONE! Biden reverses Trump’s Trans military ban by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer President Joe Biden has reversed Donald Trump’s ban on Transgender people serving in the US military. “Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is
better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force,” the White House said in a statement. “Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.”
see TRANS BAN page 15
“What’s the motive?”
Eastern WA town grapples with potential hate crime following murder of Gay teen, victim’s mother seeks justice
Photo by Rodrigo Abd / AP
University sued for discrimination
Openly gay SPU nursing professor suing Seattle Pacific University for discrimination
Jason Fox – Photo courtesy of Pepper Fox
Jéaux Rinedahl – Photo by Tom Ellis
I was raised in Newport, Washington, a highway town that Seattleites might only pass through when venturing into “the Although I grew up around homopho- Inland Empire,” with its Idahoan lakes bia, I never quite understood the damage and rural charm. Newport is also a geoit could do. Like in Friday Night Lights, graphically and socially isolated town, queer stories remained on the periphery where I saw frequent discrimination in small towns like the one I grew up in – against the LGBTQ+ community during they were taboo, and best to be avoided my school days. entirely.
gram, and had applied for an open faculty role that was advertised within the department in May 2020. The next month, RineA nursing professor is suing Seattle dahl received a call from Antwinett Lee, Pacific University (SPU) for discrimina- the Assistant Dean of Nursing at the time, tion after being rejected for a full-time role informing him that he wouldn’t qualify for the role because his sexual orientation because he is gay. Jéaux Rinedahl had been employed precluded him from signing a statement of at the University since Spring 2020 as an heterosexuality. adjunct professor in SPU’s Nursing Pro-
by Kylin Brown SGN Contributing Writer
see JASON FOX page 4
by Paige McGlauflin SGN Contributing Writer
see RINEDAHL page 5