SGN October 7, 2016 - Section 1

Celebrating 42 Years!

Issue 41 Volume 44

TWIST: Queer Film Festival AN INTERVIEW with Jason Plourde

Seattle Women’s Chorus presents UNVEILED

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FRIDAY October 7, 2016 FREE!

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

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Presidential candidate Loretta Lynch: Hillary Clinton Community policing addresses LGBT equality can make us all safer

Hillary Clinton – Photo courtesy of thedailybeast.com

by Hillary Clinton Special to the Philadelphia Gay News Philadelphia Gay News reached out to the Democratic and Republican candidates for president, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, to discuss LGBT issues in

advance of next month’s election. Clinton provided PGN this exclusive op-ed detailing her LGBT rights record and her goals for future LGBT equality efforts. The offer remains open for Trump. see HILLARY CLINTON page 8

Loretta Lynch – Photo courtesy of ationalreview.com

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The term “community policing” is often used these days whenever the media, politicians, and police officials discuss the way forward in keeping our communities safe,

yet equitable, in the 21st century. But do many people understand what community policing means? I think with all the misunderstanding and mistrust of police departments around the nation, and the roadblocks that have been set in place by people see LORETTA LYNCH page 17

Boo hoo hoo, Hillary is being British researchers mean to me, Trump says close to HIV cure Vows to sue over “nasty commercial”

Donald Trump – Photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.co.uk

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer At an October 5 campaign rally in Nevada, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump threatened to sue Hillary Clinton over a TV ad.

“I saw today – I left the room and I saw a commercial where it was really a nasty

commercial, totally made up about me with vets,” Trump told his supporters.

“There is nobody that loves the vets more or respects the vets more. They’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on false commercials, and it’s a disgrace. So what we’ll do – I guess we’ll sue them. Let’s sue them. Right? Let’s sue them.” see BOO HOO page 8

A researcher examines samples – Photo courtesy of viviangist.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer British scientists say they are close to a “full cure” for HIV. Researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, and King’s College London have been developing a new HIV treatment

that not only knocks down active viruses but also seeks out and destroys dormant HIV. Existing antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) can control HIV so effectively that viral load in patients becomes undetectable, but HIV can still exist in dormant form in patients’ T-cells. That means that patients see BRITISH HIV page 17

EDUCATE. INSPIRE. TAKE ACTION.

Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: 1933 - 1945 This important exhibit

reveals the ruthless Nazi united states holocaust memorial museum

campaign against gay men, who were among those deemed “enemies of the state.”

A touring exhibit of the USHMM WITH CONTEMPORARY PHOTO ESSAY

robin hammond

WHERE LOVE IS ILLEGAL

Presented alongside a contemporary photo essay, Where Love is Illegal, these exceptional exhibits explore an ongoing narrative of persecution and bold resistance.

Where Love is Illegal is the work of acclaimed photojournalist Robin Hammond.

Open Sundays and Wednesdays 10am - 4pm | September 11 - October 31 Plan your visit at HolocaustCenterSeattle.org call to schedule community and student groups: 206-582-3000

Community Tours : Richard

School Tours: Julia

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS GILMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION Carter Subaru | Congregation Tikvah Chadashah | First Security Bank GSBA | Lifelong Aids Alliance | Pride Foundation| Seattle Gay News Henry and Sandra Friedman HOLOCAUST CENTER FOR HUMANITY

2045 Second AVE, Seattle | Second & Lenora Learn more about the Center’s important work at HolocaustCenterSeattle.org 2 Seattle Gay News

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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New LGBTQ Activism in Seattle History Project debuts Oct. 10

by Peter Kelley Courtesy of UW News and Information The multifaceted Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, in the University of Washington Department of History, has an important new component – the LGBTQ Activism in Seattle History Project. http:// depts.washington.edu/civilr/lgbtq_intro.htm There will be a public launch of the new project on Monday, Oct. 10, at 7pm, in Room 340 of the HUB, and the public is invited.

The project was compiled by Kevin McKenna, UW doctoral student in history.

It details and documents the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activism in Seattle and Western Washington with a narrative history, photos, oral histories, a timeline and catalog of area LGBTQ activist organizations.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people have been visible and politically active in Seattle for generations. Their

activism has yielded pioneering civil rights victories,” McKenna writes on the website.

He notes that the Seattle City Council was “quicker than most municipal governments in acknowledging and passing protections for the gay community on the heels of gay liberation,” adopting an ordinance against employment discrimination in 1973 and a housing nondiscrimination ordinance in 1975.

But serious issues still face Seattle and King County’s LGBTQ communities, McKenna adds. “Even in King County, queer youth continue to face disproportionate rates of homelessness, mental health issues and domestic violence, and trans people are far more likely to live in poverty than cisgendered people.”

The timeline of activism – commissioned by the UW’s Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, runs from the mid19th century to Seattle’s 2013 election of its first openly gay mayor. The site’s listing of dozens of LGBTQ organizations in the area

is something of a timeline, too, beginning in the 1960s and the 1967 founding of the Dorian Society, “the first and only homophile organization in Seattle.”

“It is an exciting set of resources that show for the first time the generations of activism that changed rights and attitudes in Seattle and made it possible for the city to claim, justifiably, to have produced sequences of pioneering legislation including one of the nation’s first nondiscrimination laws,” said James Gregory, UW professor of history and director of the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project.

The LGBTQ Activism in Seattle History Project is supported by the Department of History, the Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project, UW Libraries, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies and other UW units, as well as and 4Culture, for King County.

SOSea to host 4th annual gala to award community members for leadership and allyship on Oct. 11

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Four years ago I founded Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) with a group of Capitol Hill artists, journalist, entertainers, and citizens, mostly 30 or younger, that saw holes in the blanket of services to Seattle’s LGBTQ and allied communities.

Since those early days of organizing, we have achieved several of our goals, most notably the rainbow crosswalks on Capitol Hill, marriage equality passed through the ballot box and the Supreme Court, repairing the relationship between the Seattle Police Department and the community, and more. Aside from holding an annual gala, SOSea also awards community members who have worked hard throughout the year on our issues. And this year the list of awardees is better than ever!

The 4th Annual SOSea Gala and Community Awards Ceremony, the organization’s biggest night of fundraising, is scheduled for October 11, at Neighbours Night-

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club (1509 Broadway) from 7 to 9 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.). Tickets are $20 at the door. The event is 21+ with a valid ID. To RSVP for the event, go to www.facebook. com/events/550866725114894/.

The money we raise at the event will greatly impact the number of LGBTQ and allied homeless folks we can provide a hot meal, Christmas cards, and warm clothes to this winter when we embark – as we have for the last three years – on Christmas morning to spread holiday cheer and provide comfort for people in need. Additionally, funds will go toward the planning and execution of our once-monthly self-defense classes and other SOSea programs and projects.

We have set our fundraising goal for this event at $5,000. Please help us reach that goal by attending the event or by going to www.SocialOutreachSeattle.com and clicking on the “donate” button, following the prompts to a safe and secure donation of any amount to support our work.

At the gala you will get to cheer on some amazing community winners as we honor their work!

The Community Awards and recipients

are as follows: • Excellence in Leadership: Louis Chernin, Greater Seattle Business Association • 2016 Public Safety Award: Seattle Police Officer Nic Abts-Olsen • 2016 Transgender Excellence Award: Danni Askini, Gender Justice League • 2016 Media Award: Justin Carder (a.k.a. jseattle), Capitol Hill Seattle blog; Steve Kiggins, Q13 FOX • 2016 Grassroots Activism Award: Ceasar Hart, Drag King Visibility • 2016 Community Partner of the Year: Jeffrey Robert, The Gay Uncle Time • 2016 Sponsor of the Year: Tanya Rachinee, owner/manager, Root Table • 2016 Entertainer of the Year: Michael Cagle • 2016 Rayo de Sol: Jacque Larrainzar • 2016 Race & Social Justice Award: Doris Martinez, Highline College Additionally, performances will include Jack Mozie, Eric Blu Martin, and more! We look forward to seeing you October 11! It’s going to be a fantastic evening!

If you have any questions please contact me at SocialOutreachSeattle@gmail.com.

Celebrating 41 Years!

OUT There Adventures and EarthCorp organize “Get OUT There” service project for LGBTQ youth In honor of LGBT history month, local non-profits OUT There Adventures and EarthCorp are teaming up to draw attention to the LGBTQ community and its relationship to our region’s parks and wild places with a special youth service project on Saturday, October 15 from 10am to 2pm at Genesee Park (4316 S. Genessee St.) OUT There Adventures (OTA) is a local non-profit whose mission is to help young people who identify as LGBTQ build community, cultivate leadership skills and their connection to nature through adventure.

EarthCorp’s mission is to build a global community of leaders through environ-

mental service. Together they are teaming up through their “Get OUT There” service project on October 15 in hopes of highlighting the importance of connecting with nature and how it can sometimes be difficult for various members of the LGBTQ community to do so.

Research indicates that positive experiences in nature improves self-esteem, supports healthy coping mechanisms, and increases self-efficacy. “The body of research continues to grow linking healthy minds and bodies with time spent in nature,” OUT There Adventures founder and Executive Director Elyse Rylander stated. “We are

extremely excited to be partnering with EarthCorp to draw attention to the importance of this resource to some of our community’s most underserved demographics.”

In addition to this service project, OUT There Adventures offers daylong and multi-day adventure expeditions throughout the region. These trips include activities such as surfing, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing and kayaking and are available to LGBTQ youth and allies ages 14 through 22. While OTA offers programming for youth year-round, it is excited to celebrate this LGBT History Month by offering activities every weekend, including the Get

OUT There service project on October 15th.

For more information about the service project or OTA, visit OTA’s website at outthereadventures.org or call them at 608772-2883.

OUT There Adventures (OTA) is a 501(c)(3) adventure education organization committed to fostering positive identity development, individual empowerment and improved quality of life for queer young people through professionally facilitated experiential education activities.

Courtesy of OUT There Adventures

Massachusetts court OKs parental rights for nonbiological, nonadoptive same-sex parents

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In a breakthrough ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that nonbiological and nonadoptive parents may claim parental rights to children they raised with their same-sex partners.

The ruling came in the case of a oncepartnered – but unmarried – Lesbian couple who are now separated.

Julie Gallagher and Karen Partanen were a couple for nearly 13 years. They met in Massachusetts and later moved to Florida.

While living in Massachusetts, they bought a home and decided to have children together. Gallagher was the biological mother of the couple’s children, and her former partner, Partanen, helped raise them. The children are now 4 and 8.

The couple separated on hostile terms in 2013. Partanen wanted to be declared a full legal parent, but Gallagher wanted to prevent her from having any relationship with the children.

A Massachusetts family court judge dismissed Partanen’s request, finding that she failed to meet the requirements for parental rights under state law because she and Gallagher were not married when the children were born, and Partanen is not a biological parent.

In overturning that ruling, the state’s highest court found that Gays and Lesbians may establish themselves as a child’s presumptive parent under state law, even without a biological relationship with the child.

“While the provisions [of the state paternity statute] at issue speak in gendered terms, they may be read, as discussed, in a gender-neutral manner, to apply where a child is ‘born to [two people], is received into their joint home, and is held out by both as their own child,’” Justice Barbara Lenk wrote for the court in the unanimous decision.

“The plain language of the provisions, then, may be construed to apply to samesex couples, even though at least one member of the couple may well lack biological ties to the children.”

“This decision is a major victory for

Mary L. Bonauto of (GLAD) – Photo courtesy of macfound.org

contemporary families, which are formed in so many different ways. It is especially a victory for the children in those families who should not be deprived of their parents because those parents are not married or used assisted reproduction,” said Mary L. Bonauto of GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), who represented Par-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

tanen before the court.

“I could not be happier,” Partanen said in a statement. “All I’ve wanted is to give my children the sense of family, continuity, and permanency that come with my being their legal parent.”

Some 35 states confer parentage on spouses who consent to assisted reproduc-

tive technology, as Partanen did. Seven of those states and the District of Columbia give legal parentage to the person who consents to the procedure with the intent to parent the resulting child, without regard to marital status, according to fertility associations and attorneys who submitted written arguments supporting Partanen.

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October 7, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

Doula support for LGBTQ families

by Mica Lewis Patient Support Assistant and Doula Doula Program Swedish Health Services As a queer doula, I am passionate about supporting safe and empowering birth experiences for Seattle’s new LGBTQ parents. So, what is a doula? A doula (“doo-lah”) provides continuous emotional, physical, and informational support to pregnant people and their families before, during, and after childbirth. Let me tell you a little bit about the role of a birth doula, and how we can show up to support LGBTQ parents navigating additional complexities of queer birth, while encouraging the excitement and unscripted creativity of family building.

Research shows that parents who receive continuous labor support from doulas have better medical outcomes. They are less likely to require medical interventions like C-sections, Pitocin, pain relief medications, and forceps or vacuum assistance at delivery. Babies are less likely to be admitted to a special care nursery. And importantly, parents report feeling more satisfied with their birth experience – no matter how it unfolds – when they have a doula. It turns out that consistent emotional support makes a really big difference in the course of birth for both parent and baby! Doulas are not medical providers, but we work together with your medical care team of nurses, doctors, and midwives, to help you feel loved and reassured throughout your labor, as well as empowered in communicating your own birth preferences.

Doulas can be especially helpful in supporting the unique experiences of LGBTQ parents who are navigating the birth world. While Seattle hospitals are leading the way on training their staff in cultural sensitivity, queer and trans families, or any parents who fall outside the heterosexual, cisgendered, monogamous norms of our society, may face additional challenges in their experience of pregnancy. No matter where we choose to labor and give birth, trying to cope with the intensity of labor while facing possible issues like misidentification, confusion about family structure, lack of experience with preferred pronouns, or accidental exclusion of the non-gestational parent can be exceedingly difficult or painful. For example, lesbian parents and partners may face anxiety that their motherhood will be in question depending on their biological relationship to the child. Gay fathers working with a surrogate might be apprehensive about the task of familiarizing their care team with their specific family and birthing configuration. Trans folks may face extra stressors in hospitals if they’ve dealt with past trauma in their medical history.

As doulas, we can provide a consistently calm and validating presence, having built a comfortable and understanding relationship with the parents over several months during the pregnancy. We work prenatally with our LGBTQ clients to unpack fears, encourage helpful communication on the birth plan, and offer resources from other queer parents who faced similar situations. And on the day of the labor, we are a dynamic bridge, familiar to the medical care team and familiar to the birthing parents. We work to facilitate a nonjudgmental and safe space for communication, processing, and beautiful, safe birthing! It may even be important to you to work with a doula from within the LGBTQ community who can relate to your concerns and help you navigate the intense experiences of pregnancy and birth with grace and empowerment. I am honored to be part of a larger community of queer birth workers and reproductive justice activists in the Puget

Mica Lewis Patient Support Assistant and Doula – Photo courtesy of Swedish Health Services

Sound area who are highly trained, passionate, and available to support families from every type of background.

As awareness and access to doulas grows in our community, I am proud to be working with the cutting edge of birth support in the hospital setting. This January, Swedish Medical Center launched the first hospital-based paid doula program in Washington. The program is a collaboration between 42 independent doulas and the leaders in maternal care at Swedish; it opens doors for easily finding a great doula and facilitating all the aspects of logistics and coordination with your doula and your medical support team. Since January, our team of doulas has supported more than 200 families at our four hospital birth centers in the Greater Seattle area (First Hill, Ballard, Issaquah, and Edmonds).

The support services of a Swedish doula include 1-2 meetings during your pregnancy to discuss birth preferences and help prepare for delivery, ongoing phone and email support throughout pregnancy, 24/7 on-call availability to attend your birth, meeting at home in early labor, supporting you through your entire labor and delivery at the hospital, and an in-home visit after your baby is born to discuss feeding, sleep issues, referrals and other questions

Visit us online www.sgn.org

you may have as a new parent. If you’d like to find out more information, reach out to the Swedish Doula Program office at 206215-6106 or check out our website at http:// www.swedish.org/doulas Finally, if you or someone you know within the LGBTQ community is interested in the career path of providing birth support to families, I very much hope you will explore our newly created Swedish Doula Diversity Scholarship. The goal of this scholarship is to increase the number of birth doulas from within communities traditionally underrepresented in the doula profession by reducing cost, access, and community barriers that participants might face. We are excited to stand with other local and national organizations offering scholarships to support the development and entry of more doulas of color, LGBTQ doulas, and doulas from varied ethnic and language backgrounds into the birth support profession. The Swedish Doula Program has partnered with the Swedish Community Engagement department to establish a scholarship that includes: • Fully funded doula training at several locations • Full funding for certification fees • Access to a training library

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• Two shadowed births with a doula mentor • Drop-in study space Please email doulas@swedish.org for more information about this scholarship opportunity.

Thanks for taking the time to learn about doula support, and feel free to reach out to the Swedish Doula Services: www. swedish.org/doulas, if you have any questions or comments about the intersection of LGBTQ health and birth care, or to learn more about doula support for your birth!

Resources for Pregnancy and Birth Support at Swedish: • Lytle Center for Pregnancy & Newborns: www.swedish.org/locations/lytle-center-for-pregnancy-and-newborns, 1-206-21-LYTLE • Swedish Doula Services: www.swedish.org/doulas, 1-206-215-6106 • Swedish Medical Center: www.swedish.org, 1-800-SWEDISH

Seattle Gay News 7

or transgender.

That means working to pass the Equal- that guns don’t fall into the wrong hands.

HILLARY CLINTON gayThat goes against everything we stand ity Act. It would finally provide LGBT peoFinally, we need to continue our fight to

continued from cover

This is the first time a major-party presidential candidate has written an op-ed for an LGBT newspaper. As such, this piece will kick off PGN’s annual LGBT History Month Project coverage, which will run weekly through the end of October. ********** More than half a century ago, at Independence Hall, participants at the first Annual Reminder march picketed, chanted and sang. They did this to show their fellow Philadelphians that the LGBT community lacked fundamental civil rights.

In the decades since those protests, our country has come a long way. Marriage equality is the law of the land. This year, the last state law prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting was finally struck down.

And President Obama signed an executive order protecting federal workers from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We should celebrate that progress.

But the simple truth is that even now, in 2016, there are still too many states in America where LGBT people can be fired or evicted from their home because of who they are or who they love. Pennsylvania is one of them. Here, you can get married on Sunday and fired on Monday, just for being

for as a country.

We need to act on the federal level to take on discrimination in all its forms. That’s what I’ll do as President – with your help.

But first, we have to win this election.

Donald Trump must not be elected president. He would rip away so much of the progress we’ve made. He would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn marriage equality and rescind many of President Obama’s executive orders – including those protecting LGBT people.

It’s not just Trump’s policies that reveal the kind of president he would be. So does his choice of running mate. Mike Pence is one of the most anti-LGBT public officials in America. As governor of Indiana, Pence supported a bill that legalized discrimination against LGBT people. As a member of Congress, he voted against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. He opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” saying doing so would be “social experimentation.” And he’s said that homosexuality would bring about “societal collapse.”

That’s why the stakes in this election are so high.

If I’m fortunate enough to be elected president, I’ll protect the progress we’ve fought so hard to achieve – and I’ll keep fighting until every American can live free from discrimination and prejudice.

ple full federal nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, and so much more. I know that differences of opinion on LGBT equality still exist in the hearts of some Americans, but they should not exist under our laws. As president, I’ll be your partner in bringing about the vision of the inclusive nation that advocates, activists, and allies have been seeking for decades.

I also believe we must address the ongoing issue of violence against the LGBT community. LGBT people are now more likely than any other group to be the target of a hate crime. America saw the effects of hate in Orlando, with the attack on the Pulse nightclub – the deadliest mass shooting by a single person in our history. The danger is compounded for LGBT people of color, who face intersectional pressures and dangers, particularly transgender people of color.

Last year, more than 20 transgender women were killed in America. Recently, three were murdered right here in Philadelphia.

We need to stop the violence and save LGBT lives. We need to collect more data around gender identity and sexual orientation in hate crimes, so we can stop them in a smarter, more effective way. And we need to finally pass common-sense reforms to address the gun violence epidemic. Along with the vast majority of Americans, I believe that we can protect the rights of lawabiding gun owners while still making sure

achieve our goal of an AIDS-free generation. HIV and AIDS still disproportionately impact gay and bisexual men, communities of color, transgender people, and young people. We need to increase research, expand the use of effective prevention medications like PrEP, cap out-of-pocket drug costs, and reform outdated HIV-criminalization laws.

Like many, I’ve lost friends and loved ones to AIDS. We owe it to them – the people we love and miss, and the people whose names we’ll never know – to continue this fight.

As First Lady and senator, I fought to significantly expand funding for AIDS research. As Secretary of State, I changed the rules so that State Department employees in same-sex relationships were treated the same as their colleagues and so that transgender Americans could obtain passports that reflected their true gender identity. So these fights aren’t new to me.

And as president, I’ll keep fighting for LGBT rights, because – as I told the world in one of the most important speeches I gave as Secretary – they are human rights.

And I won’t quit until all our laws reflect that basic reality. http://www.epgn.com/news/local/11120pgn-exclusive-hillary-clinton-addresseslgbt-equality

Jesus is OK with Gays, but he’s not crazy about Trans folks, Pope says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Gay people can get into heaven, but Trans people are unnatural, Pope Francis said in an impromptu interview on the papal plane as he returned from a visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan.

“When a [Gay] person arrives before Jesus, Jesus certainly will not say, ‘Go away because you are homosexual,’” the Pope told reporters traveling with him.

On the other hand, changing the sex people were assigned at birth “is against nature,” he said.

Even worse, the Pope continued, is teaching gender studies in schools.

“It’s one thing if a person has this tendency and also changes sex,” Francis told reporters. “It’s another thing to teach this in school to change mentalities. This is what I call ‘ideological colonization.’”

On his trip to the Caucasus region, the Pope told local priests and nuns that teaching gender theory in schools was part of a “global war” against marriage.

“What I was talking about was the nastiness that is present today in indoctrinating people in gender theory,” he said when asked to elaborate on his earlier comments.

Francis also said that LGBT people should be “welcomed” by the Catholic Church, but only with the intention of getting them to accept Catholic teachings on morality.

BOO HOO

continued from cover Trump did not specify which ad he was referring to or which pro-Clinton group ran the ad, and his campaign did not respond to requests for details, according to CNN. Last month the Clinton campaign launched an eviscerating ad titled “Sacrifice” that featured veterans watching Trump make disparaging comments about veterans and the military, including his comment ar-

8 Seattle Gay News

Pope Francis – photo courtesy of godlights.me

guing that Sen. John McCain, who was tortured for several years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was “not a war hero.”

“He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK?” Trump said of McCain.

The ad, which followed Trump’s feud with Khizr Khan, the father of an American Muslim soldier killed in combat in Iraq, also features Trump’s response to Khan’s charge that he’d never sacrificed for his country.

“I think I made a lot of sacrifices, built

October 7, 2016

great structures, I’ve had tremendous success,” Trump said in the interview featured in the Clinton campaign ad, apparently comparing his sacrifices to those of US military veterans.

Trump made another offensive statement about veterans on October 3, when he suggested during an event in Virginia that war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder commit suicide because they “can’t handle it,” while others are “strong.”

“When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from

“Life is life, and things should be taken as they come,” the Pope said. “Sin is sin, but tendencies or hormonal imbalances…can cause many problems, and we have to be careful.

“But each case must be welcomed, accompanied, studied, discerned, and integrated. This is what Jesus would do today.”

“Please don’t write that the pope will sanctify transsexuals,” he added with a smile. “I can see the front pages of papers now. But no, it is a moral question. It is a human question, and it must be resolved as best as possible, always with the mercy of God, the truth…always with an open heart.”

In his 2015 book, This Economy Kills, the Pope equates being Transgender with mass killing in a nuclear war.

“Let’s think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings,” he wrote. “Let’s think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation.

“With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator. The true custody of creation does not have anything to do with the ideologies that consider man like an accident, like a problem to eliminate.”

The Pope also spoke against Trans people in Poland while visiting in August. Francis said it is “terrible” that “today in schools, they are teaching this to children – to children! – that everyone can choose their own gender.” war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of folks in this room have seen many times over and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it,” Trump said.

“They see horror stories, they see events you couldn’t see in a movie, nobody would believe it.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to sue news outlets and political rivals for portraying him in a negative light, regardless of how truthful the claims were.

Celebrating 41 Years!

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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Celebrating 41 Years!

Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women take stand in support of Standing Rock Sioux Warriors SOLIDARITY WITH STANDING ROCK SIOUX WARRIORS September 13, 2016 Standing Rock Sioux Tribe c/o Steve Sitting Bear External Affairs Director Bldg. #1, N Standing Rock Avenue P.O. Box D Fort Yates, ND 58538 ssittingbear@standingrock.org To the Standing Rock Sioux Warriors, The Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) and Radical Women (RW) send you this statement of unwavering solidarity for your battle against corporate America that

wants to destroy your sacred lands and waterways. Opposition to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline is important for all of us fighting to save the planet and her people. The last few months we have seen you stand as protectors of Mother Earth, her indigenous nations, her resources and her creatures, and we are gratified to see Native American Tribes and other supporters from all across the country joining you in this fight. This solidarity speaks loudly to the power of workers and oppressed people to stand against injustice, exploitation and genocide.

The Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women are sister organizations whose members are revolutionary feminists and race liberationists dedicated to the replacement of capitalism by a system of planet-friendly production to satisfy hu-

man needs, not the greed of a few, in which the wealth that is created by all is shared by all. We recognize the dynamic leadership of women that is shown in your resistance, which we believe every freedom struggle needs if it is to succeed.

FSP and RW members from Melbourne in Australia to Seattle in the U.S. are participating in rallies for your cause, have donated to sustain it, and are publicizing it at www.socialism.com. The website also carries news of our past and ongoing support for indigenous struggles, from fights for Native fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest to organizing against uranium mining on Indian lands and against Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia.

We are with you!

In solidarity, Doug Barnes National Secretary Freedom Socialist Party Anne Slater National Organizer Radical Women TAKE ACTION: To aid the Standing Rock Sioux in their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 before 5:00 EST and urge President Obama to rescind the Army Corps of Engineers permit for the pipeline.

For more info and more ways to help, visit standingrock.org.

Louisiana governor sues state’s attorney general to defend LGBT protections

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Louisiana’s Democratic governor has filed suit against the state’s Republican attorney general for blocking state legal contracts because they contain language protecting LGBT employees from discrimination in the workplace.

Governor John Bel Edwards took office January 11. One of his first official acts was to issue an executive order adding antidiscrimination protections for LGBT workers to all Louisiana state contracts. Similar language barring discrimination based on race, religious creed, and political affiliation is also included in state contracts.

To date, Attorney General Jeff Landry has blocked “at least three dozen legal contracts for a variety of state government agencies because they include language preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

“I believe he is on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of history,” Edwards says.

The governor met with the attorney general on September 30 in an attempt to

(l) Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards & Attorney General Jeff Landry – Photos courtesy of gov.louisiana.gov & kalb.com

resolve the standoff, but when Landry refused to back down, Edwards filed suit.

“He basically told me that if I wanted him to approve those contracts that I would have to sue him,” Edwards said at a press

conference. “So I’m obliging him on that.”

Among other issues, the contracts blocked

by Landry involve employment at the state’s ports, potential medical malpractice awards for patients, and oversight of state bonds.

“It’s becoming a real problem because we have to move forward,” Edwards said.

Landry said he was rejecting the contracts because the state legislature had declined on several occasions to pass laws protecting LGBT people. He is simply protecting the will of the Legislature in rejecting contracts with LGBT protections, Landry said.

Edwards believes he has the authority to require such nondiscrimination language in state contracts as the chief executive officer of the state. Two previous Democratic governors, Edwin Edwards and Kathleen Blanco, had issued similar executive orders protecting LGBT people. Blanco’s successor, Republican Bobby Jindal, cancelled Blanco’s executive order.

On taking office, Edwards cancelled all of Jindal’s executive orders protecting businesses and nonprofit organizations who oppose same-sex marriage. Jindal’s order prohibited state agencies from penalizing businesses and individuals who act from a “religious belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman.”

Anti-Gay Judge Roy Moore sacked, files appeal

Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that “the Court of the Judiciary has done the citizens of Alabama a great service by suspending Roy Moore from the bench.”

Mat Staver, CEO of Liberty Counsel

and Moore’s attorney in this case, called the court’s action a “miscarriage of justice” and filed an appeal.

“Liberty Counsel and the Chief Justice have appealed this case to the Alabama Supreme Court. These baseless charges should be dismissed, and the Chief Justice should be reinstated,” Staver said in a statement.

“To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the duration of his term is a miscarriage of justice and the same as removal. The COJ lacked the unanimous votes to remove the Chief, so the majority instead chose to ignore the law and the rules. We will continue the fight for justice to prevail in this case.”

Moore had previously been removed from the Chief Judge post in 2003, after disobeying a court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Supreme Court building in Montgomery. The COJ cited this incident as evidence of a pattern of behavior showing disrespect for federal law.

Moore then ran for governor of Alabama in 2006 and 2010 but failed to win the Republican nomination. He was re-elected Chief Judge in 2012.

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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Alabama Supreme Court Chief Judge Roy Moore was suspended from his post for the remainder of his term by the state’s judicial oversight body on September 30.

Moore’s attorneys at Liberty Counsel announced on October 5 that they would appeal the decision.

Alabama’s Court of the Judiciary (COJ) said Moore flouted the US Constitution when he ordered Alabama state judges to continue to deny marriage licenses to samesex couples even after the US Supreme Court issued its Obergefell decision allowing Gay and Lesbian couples to marry.

“Beyond question, at the time he issued the January 6, 2016, order, Chief Justice Roy Moore knew about Obergefell and its clear holding that the United States Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry,” the court wrote in the unanimous decision.

The judiciary court’s decision said

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Judge Roy Moore suspended – Photo courtesy of alabamanews.net

Moore’s January 6 order to the probate judges showed “disregard for binding federal law.”

Moore is now 69, and Alabama law forbids people to run for judicial positions after they reach the age of 70, so he has effectively been barred from any future judicial posts.

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October is LGBT History Month

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Equality Forum annually observes LGBT History Month with millions of other LGBTQ and allied folks around the world each October. However, what sets this LGBT civil rights organization with an educational focus apart from other groups is the fact that the sole purpose of Equality Forum is to coordinate LGBT History Month, produce documentary films, undertake high-impact initiatives, and present the largest annual national and international LGBT civil rights summit. That’s a tall order. And yet, the organization fulfills its mission dutifully.

In particular, what Equality Forum is most known for is its annual list, “31 Days.

31 Icons.” More than just a list of names, it includes videos, images, biographies, and bibliographies for each of the named history-makers to better educate the public about our community. And it’s good-quality stuff too.

Another great thing about visiting www.LGBTHistoryMonth.com is that you can find out all the information Equality Forum has amassed from past years’ lists by searching the entire LGBT History Month database of 310 icons – from 2006 to 2015 – by name or by more than 150 tags (such as Academy Award, African-American, Author, Chicago, Composer, Germany, Lesbian, Politics, or Transgender).

The 2016 LGBT Icon list includes pioneering activist Virginia Apuzzo; singer and actress Josephine Baker; Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel; journalist and commentator Charles Blow; activist and government official Brian Bond; Transgender activist Chaz Bono; rock star David Bowie; US President James Buchanan; activist and author Jeanne Córdova; presidential advisor Midge Costanza; Transgender pioneer and painter Lili Elbe; Israeli Gay pioneer and scientist Uzi Even;

“31 Days. 31 Icons.” – Image courtesy of Equality Forum

entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes; psychiatrist John Fryer (“Dr. H. Anonymous”); poet and activist Essex Hemphill; Indian Gay pioneer and journalist Ashok Row Kavi; social activist Frances Kellor; journalist and LGBT historian Jim Kepner; Gay pioneer Kay Lahusen; playwright Terrence McNally; Transgender activist and author Janet Mock; basketball coach Sherri Mur-

rell; long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad; pioneering activist Jean O’Leary; marriage equality hero, James Obergefell; actress Ellen Page; neurologist and author Oliver Sacks; US General Tammy Smith; DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias; immigration activist José Antonio Vargas; and biologist and AIDS activist Bruce Voeller.

Currently, Equality Forum is taking

nominations for the list of icons for 2017’s LGBT History Month at www.lgbthistorymonth.com/icon-selection.

“Each year 31 LGBT icons, living or dead, are selected for achievements in their field of endeavor; for their status as a national hero; or for their significant contribution to LGBT civil rights. Equality Forum solicits nominations from regional, state, national, and international organizations; activists; and the public,” Equality Forum officials say in the criteria listing on the organization’s website. “LGBT History Month co-chairs Lillian Faderman and Paul Farber review all nominations and recommend the annual Icons.”

The deadline for submissions is Friday, December 9, 2016.

LGBT History Month goes back to 1994, when Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school teacher, believed a month should be dedicated to the celebration and teaching of Gay and Lesbian history, and gathered other teachers and community leaders. Together, they selected October because public schools are in session, and existing traditions, such as Coming Out Day (October 11), occur during that month.

Gay and Lesbian History Month was endorsed by GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Education Association, and other national organizations. In 2006 Equality Forum assumed responsibility for providing content, promotion, and resources for LGBT History Month.

“The LGBT community is the only community worldwide that is not taught its history at home, in public schools, or in religious institutions,” reports Equality Forum.

“LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and makes the civil rights statement about our extraordinary national and international contributions.”

For more information, visit www.equalityforum.com.

Lambda Legal sues Pennsylvania school district for anti-Trans discrimination

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on October 6 charging the Pine-Richland School District in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with discriminating against Transgender students.

The school district, Lambda Legal said, recently changed its restroom policies and now bars Trans students from using restrooms appropriate for their gender identities.

“After years of allowing transgender students to use the restrooms that match their identity, last month the school board for the Pine-Richland School District caved to outside pressure and unfounded fears. By voting to reverse the district’s longstanding inclusive restroom practice and to restrict the rights of transgender students, the school board has violated federal law and imposed harm upon Pine-Richland’s transgender students,” Lambda Legal staff attorney Omar Gonzalez-Pagan said.

“Forcing transgender students to use separate restrooms – after they had been using the appropriate facilities for years without incident – is not just unnecessary; it also harms and stigmatizes them. The PineRichland school board should be watching out for the safety and well-being of all its students, but through their discriminatory actions, they have failed Pine-Richland’s transgender students. No transgender student, anywhere, should be treated like a second-class person.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Pine-

14 Seattle Gay News

Pine-Richland student Juliet Evancho (r) & sister Jackie – Photo courtesy of aceshowbiz.com

Richland High School seniors Juliet Evancho and Elissa Ridenour, and a minor identified only by the initials AS. In the complaint, Lambda Legal argues that Pine-Richland’s newly-adopted discriminatory restroom policy sends a purposeful message that Transgender students in the school district are undeserving of the privacy, respect, and protections afforded to other students.

“I was shocked and appalled when I learned about the vote to adopt the new rest-

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room policy. For years, I have used the girls’ restroom without incident,” said Ridenour.

“Now, I feel constantly under surveillance. I’m a girl. But I’m expected to use the boys’ room? Or to use some ‘separate’ bathroom that no one else has to use? How is that fair?”

“The day after the vote, it felt different in school: I felt exposed and vulnerable,” Evancho added.

“I even thought about dropping out, or trying to finish school from home. But then

my classmates nominated me for homecoming queen, showing that they know, accept, and respect me for who I am. So, why can’t everyone else? Why make an issue where there isn’t one?”

The Lambda Legal complaint argues that the school district’s new policy is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, by discriminating on the basis of sex and gender identity. The policy also violates Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments by discriminating against students on the basis of sex.

“The District’s previous policy of fostering a safe environment for all its students, with a trans-inclusive restroom practice, worked well for years,” GonzalezPagan said. “Transgender students already face so many challenges – they shouldn’t have to be disrespected and degraded while at school, too.”

The school district’s policy was changed in September after months of controversy.

According to Lambda Legal, anti-LGBT groups and individuals organized to overturn the district’s longstanding inclusive restroom practice.

In March, Lambda Legal sent a letter to the district on behalf of several Pine-Richland Transgender students, urging district officials and the school board to reject the misinformation and to continue treating transgender students equally. Since then, Lambda Legal attorneys sent additional letters and have been present at several school board meetings, but to no avail.

Celebrating 41 Years!

SPARKLE IN THE PARK

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 10, around 60 people enjoyed the 2nd annual “Sparkle in the Park” show at Cal Anderson Park, which featured six LGBTQ teen and youth performers sharing their poetry, original songs, drag performances and cover versions in the one hour show. In addition to the opportunity to perform, youth received a financial stipend for their efforts. Ms. Regine Dynasty of Nubian Pride emceed the event, and provided the closing performance to Thelma Houston’s hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” The show was hosted by Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Photo courtesy of Randy Wiger

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Celebrating 41 Years!

BRITISH HIV

continued from cover must be on ART for the rest of their lives, otherwise they risk reactivation of the infection.

The new therapy combines conventional ART meds with drugs designed to activate dormant HIV so it can also be destroyed.

“This is one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV. We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV,” added Mark Samuels, managing director at the Health

LORETTA LYNCH continued from cover

and organizations with agendas who benefit from a split between the police and the communities they work in, it’s safe to say that no, people don’t understand what it means.

According to the Department of Justice, community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.

Simply put: It means that the police in your city or town reach out to and work with members of the community to come up with plans, as a group, to address issues of crime and disorder.

The whole idea behind this philosophy of policing is that when the community is involved with the planning process of how the police should address issues in a specific community, citizens will gain a better understanding of the problems, help reform departments that are on the wrong path, and together, take ownership of the crime that permeates the streets of American neighborhoods so it can ultimately be eradicated.

Many people, including US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, believe this is the only way forward. Lynch and others also believe this is a way to relieve racial tension that has, once again, jumped to the forefront of the issues we face as a nation.

Lynch recently wrote an editorial for the Washington Post, saying, “Recent incidents in Charlotte, Tulsa, and El Cajon, Calif., were just the latest in a long series of events that have left Americans feeling saddened, angry and confused about the meaning of justice in the United States.

These high-profile traumas – which include the tragic officer-involved deaths of civilians and appalling, premeditated attacks on police officers – have laid bare the fault lines of mistrust that too often separate law enforcement and communities of color.”

“As attorney general of the United States, one of my top priorities has been bridging the divides between police and citizens,” she continued. “I firmly believe that all of us – law enforcement officers, activists and ordinary citizens alike – have a role to play in closing those rifts and repairing the fabric of our society.”

Lynch says that the Justice Department has been tirelessly pursuing that goal in a number of ways.

“We dispatch mediators to assist with tense situations, provide local law enforcement agencies with training and technical assistance, and, when necessary, investigate allegations of unconstitutional policing,” she said. “Our work to restore trust takes many forms, but it is all closely tied to the principles of community policing.”

Lynch says that “community policing is a public-safety philosophy based on partnership and cooperation.”

“At its core is the idea that everyone has a stake in the safety of the neighborhoods where we live and work, and that none of us, police or citizen, can make them safe on our own,” she continued. “Community policing uses our shared interest as the foundation for deeper understanding, mutual respect, and closer partnership. In practice, community policing encourages officers and citizens to communicate regularly, to share concerns and collaborate on solutions, and, above all, to get to know one another as people rather than stereotypes.”

Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure “This is a huge challenge, and it’s still in its early days, but the progress has been remarkable,” he said.

So far only 50 patients have participated in the British study, but at least one patient has reported no detectable HIV virus, an outcome described as “remarkable” by the researchers.

The man, aged 44 and a social worker in London, told the London Times, “It would be great if a cure has happened. My last blood test was a couple of weeks ago and there is no detectable virus.”

Scientists cautioned that the result may be caused by conventional ART and that they declined to proclaim their trial a success.

“It could be the antiretroviral therapies, so we have to wait to be sure,” the test subject said.

“I took part in the trial to help others as well as myself. It would be a massive achievement if, after all these years, something is found to cure people of this disease.

“The fact that I was a part of that would be incredible,” he added.

Even if the cure does work in a research setting, a treatment based on the findings will be

a “long way” off, says professor Sarah Fidler, a consultant physician at Imperial College.

“This therapy is specifically designed to clear the body of all HIV viruses, including dormant ones,” she said.

“It has worked in the laboratory and there is good evidence it will work in humans too, but we must stress we are still a long way from any actual therapy.

“We will continue with medical tests for the next five years, and at the moment we are not recommending stopping ART, but in the future, depending on the test results, we may explore this.”

In Seattle, we do this by way of demographic advisory councils to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), Micro Community Policing Plans, the Community Police Commission (CPC), and (supposedly) the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA). I say “supposedly” because, even though traditionally the OPA tends to rule in favor of the officer, SPD officers by and large look at the OPA as “no friend to the police,” as I was told by an officer who did not want their name mentioned because they are not an official spokesperson for the department.

Aside from making recommendations to Seattle Chief of Police Kathleen O’Toole – which she does not have to follow – the OPA is powerless and often jeered by the public for recommending slaps on the wrist in place of real consequences for officers who violate policies or worse.

As the current chair of the LGBTQ Advisory Council to SPD and president and founder of Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) – a local social justice organization that, among other things, assists the community in anti-crime initiatives and police relations – I have seen firsthand the positive outcome of the advisory councils, CPC, and community policing efforts. The idea is that in order to help make our police department one that works for everybody, it is better to work alongside them than against them.

Last year, Lynch visited Seattle as a part of her 12-city Community Policing Tour to learn what municipalities around the country are doing to foster trust and cooperation. “I was inspired and encouraged by what I saw,” she said.

“In Cincinnati, I witnessed officers spending time in local classrooms as tutors and mentors in safe and supportive settings for kids. I observed cutting-edge de-escalation training in Phoenix, where officers were taught how to exercise restraint in ambiguous situations. And in Fayetteville, N.C., I learned about the police chief’s youth advisory council, which gives local high school students a meaningful role in shaping their city’s policing practices and policies.”

When Lynch visited our city, I got the opportunity to meet with her and speak to her about ways that community policing can aid the LGBTQ community. I talked to her about the SOSea Safety Shuttle and how funding for the project never developed, even though we had provided more than 500 rides home for LGBTQ and allied people during early morning bar and nightclub hours (helping to reduce the number of attacks during those hours by a considerable amount) and the Capitol Hill neighborhood’s acceptance of the project. The need for funding, I said, is critical for community groups that set out to do the work necessary to yield positive results.

We also spoke about the need to counter the rhetoric that police officers are conditioned to not provide safety for members of the LGBTQ community. While it is true that Stonewall was, indeed, a police riot, the fact is it was police who ran toward the bullets in Orlando when Pulse, a Gay nightclub, was under attack. Departments like SPD have drafted (with advice from members of the Transgender community) policies on dealing with Transgender citizens. There are a record number of out Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender officers (Seattle now has two out Transgender officers). This is in direct contradiction of the age-old argument that we are somehow the enemy of police.

The Seattle Police Department’s Safe Place Program – which I helped develop and implement with SPD LGBTQ Liaison Officer Jim Ritter – has signed up more

than 700 businesses across the city, and been adopted by departments throughout the state and country (including Orlando).

This shows that at no time in our nation’s history have the police and the LGBTQ community been closer. That is progress.

That is community policing in action.

None of this means, however, that there isn’t more to do and that everything is somehow perfect. Because it is not. But it is a start. It is better today than it was yesterday. Now, the focus is on the future and what we can do to make things safer for LGBTQ people of color and improve police relations. This is a good thing.

Lynch was impressed by what she saw in Seattle. In fact, Chief O’Toole was invited to the White House and honored by President Obama for the department’s reform efforts in the face of a Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree, and she sat next to First Lady Michelle Obama during the president’s latest State of the Union address.

Lynch said at a community policing forum in Seattle on September 24, 2015, that I attended, “I am here in Seattle today because this city’s leaders – all of you around this table and your partners beyond this room – have demonstrated your commitment to making progress – together – on behalf of your fellow citizens and for the good of this great city.

“Three years ago, Seattle entered a consent decree with the Justice Department to remedy a pattern or practice of excessive force in policing. Thanks to the consent decree and the commitment to change it represented, the Seattle Police Department has adopted policies and instituted trainings to address bias, curtail the use of force, and implement new mechanisms of accountability. Those reforms have not only led to positive results in Seattle but have become a model for similarly situated departments throughout the country. I am proud of the important steps Seattle has already taken, and I promise you that the Department of Justice will be there as your partner as we continue this important work.”

In her Washington Post editorial, Lynch announced, “President Obama has designated this week as National Community Policing Week: a time for law enforcement and communities to come together, acknowledge our shared pain, begin to rebuild trust, and chart a peaceful course forward. Over the next several days, the Justice Department and its partners will hold more than 400 community policing events nationwide, where we will focus on ways to ensure that all members of our society can be confident in the guarantee of equal protection under our laws. We also will publish a report about my community policing tour, offering a blueprint for other localities to learn as they work to build trust and legitimacy in their own neighborhoods and implement the pillars of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.”

On Monday, such an event took place, when several community police leaders and I, alongside community demographic leaders, were invited to the office of US Attorney, Western District of Washington, Annette L. Hayes to receive an update on where we are in the SPD reform process, discuss upcoming assessments and milestones, and give our perspective on the work to date and the challenges that remain. The meeting took place at the Federal Courthouse and was a roundtable discussion. Everybody was equal; no community was shut out.

In its latest report, the federal monitor of the DOJ’s consent decree highlighted the significant progress the SPD has made in its reform efforts during the past year. The

consent decree was brought on because, according to a 2011 report by the DOJ, SPD officers used excessive force, often against the mentally ill or people impaired by drugs or alcohol, in about 20% of all arrests and because the officers themselves often escalated a minor interaction into physical confrontations.

The federal monitor says that behavior is changing in the SPD. Currently, only 1.6% of the 9,300 crisis contacts result in reportable force. That’s a far cry from about 20%, as reported in 2011. Furthermore, there was a 55% decrease in the number of moderate- to high-level use-of-force incidents in the last year.

And there’s better news to report too.

Many cities, like Seattle, are under scrutiny by the DOJ. Some of these cities are creating new structures for civilian and community oversight. Seattle is one of several cities launching an Office of the Inspector General. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s latest budget includes $3 million to strengthen police accountability. Some portion of that will go to launch the Inspector General’s office.

In July, Murray made clear, “It is my suggestion that we take the part-time auditor’s position, which is on a consulting contract, and make it into an inspector general’s position with a stronger ability to investigate complaints and practices.”

He plans to introduce such legislation soon.

The role of Seattle’s OPA auditor, former deputy mayor and out Lesbian judge Anne Levinson, has been to independently review the complaints to the OPA and how they are investigated. Levinson says she is supportive of the new office.

“The inspector general would have staff [and] independent authority to do the audits and evaluations, and report on a regular basis and present to the city council in a public fashion,” Levinson told KUOW in an October 1 interview.

Levinson has, in the past, recommended broader changes, like monitoring the use of force by police, and training officers in deescalation, racial bias, and how to handle people in crisis. According to her KUOW interview, those findings often gathered dust, until the DOJ reached a consent decree with the city in 2012.

“Because of the consent decree, a number of the recommendations I have made have now been implemented,” she said.

“But it’s only because of the force of the court behind. This administration of its own volition hasn’t implemented very many of these recommendations.”

She said she’s watching for in the upcoming legislation to review how the OPA and inspector general are protected from political interference.

“Independence,” she said. “What you’ll want to look for is that the mayor can appoint the OPA director, for example, but the city council can appoint the inspector general, so you have a balance of powers.”

In other words what Murray, Levinson, and other police watchdogs want is the ability to have more bite than bark.

Lynch ended her Washington Post editorial by saying that it is her commitment, and the commitment of the Obama Administration, to have community policing events extend far beyond this single week.

“Our country’s founding principles guarantee every person a life of safety, dignity, and opportunity,” she concluded. “By allowing residents and law enforcement officials to see one another as allies, rather than as adversaries, community policing helps to make that guarantee real – not just for some Americans, but for all.”

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